Prices for older secondhand vessels in the VLCC market are rising faster than for younger ones, while newbuildings are unlikely to see any increase in the near future, according to shipping analysts at DNB Markets in Oslo.

The price of a five-year-old VLCC had risen to US$84m, while a 10-year-old cost US$59m and a 15-year-old was US$41m, all up by US$2.0m in the past week, they reported.

"The fact that older tonnage is appreciating faster than its younger sisters is in line with our forecast and we believe there is more room for secondhand asset price appreciation in light of the current strong crude tank market supported by oil producers' continued incentive to maximise production and hence pour more oil into the market," said Nicolay Dyvik, Oyvind Berle, and Petter Haugen, the DNB Markets'shipping analysts, in a market report.